Remember me
by Ceillean
Summary: Destiny has something great planned for Zekk of Ennth. And it involves a beautiful woman...
1. Chapter 1

"_It's your turn, Celeste!" Maya exclaimed while clapping her hands the way a five year old would at a lifeday celebration with tons of gifts. Celeste grimaced as she pulled her skinned knees to her chest. The three girls had been outside all day, spending their time playing games in the nearby forest. Breathing in the cool air, letting herself fall onto the leafy ground – a personal adventure she adored to the utmost. Unlike the game Maya and Chantal were making her play now._

"_This doesn't even work. It's silly."_

"_Oh, come on, Celeste! Don't be a spoilsport." Chantal smiled a toothy smile; she did that a lot lately. Her lips were a permanent dark red, a gift from her mother who said it was something all grown women did and Chantal couldn't wait to be one of the grownups. "Maybe you'll find out who you're going to marry!"_

_Celeste frowned at her friend, wrapping her arms around her legs, "I don't want to get married."_

_At fourteen, she had already made up her mind that no man would ever be worth her time. Her father had died when Celeste was only five; all she really remembered was the skin crinkling around his light green eyes when he laughed. She had loved him so much – the mere thought of him now ripping open the old wounds buried deep within her heart. _

_Her mother had remarried two years after her father's sudden death. Celeste had hated that her mother had thought to find love so shortly after their family had been shredded to pieces. Celeste had never liked her stepfather but she had had no other choice but to live with him. In the beginning, it had seemed that he was a decent man – honest, trustworthy and loving. Nevertheless, within only weeks after their wedding, he had changed. _

_He would yell a lot and swear at them. And sometimes he would lash out at her mother. Only once had he tried to harm Celeste but her mother had stopped him with all she was worth, having to pay the price with a long stay at the hospital._

_Celeste grimaced as memories pounded her skull._

_No, she would never fall in love. Because love hurt._

_Either the person you loved died and left you to grieve for the rest of your life or the person you loved caused you unimaginable pain. _

"_Please, Celeste. Just try it once."_

"_Maybe you're destined to be with Travis Fimmel!" Maya squealed with a wicked grin on her face and a mischievous glint in her eyes._

_Chantal frowned, "Travis Fimmel is mine, thank you very much."_

_Maya snorted, "He happens to like brunettes and seeing that you're blond…"_

_Celeste laughed at her friends as they started counting possible ways on how to meet their favorite male model and how to get him to actually take notice and like them. _

"_He's too old for you." Celeste said, catching dark looks from the both of them._

"_In ten years he won't be." Chantal murmured._

"_In ten years no one will remember him."_

_Both Maya and Chantal gaped at her, their eyes wide as they stared, "How can you say that?"_

"_How can you even think it?"_

"_He's a God! No one forgets Gods."_

_Celeste arched a brow, "A God?" She gave them a quizzical look._

"_Have you seen his body?"_

"_He has to be a God with a body like that!" Chantal grabbed her personal data pad, which she always carried around with her, and switched it on. A blue hologram flickered to life, showing a young athletically built man, his hair reaching his shoulders in thick waves. Besides a pair of black boxers, he was naked, showing off a muscled yet slim body. _

_Celeste had to admit he was good-looking but in her opinion, definitely no God._

"_Wasn't it my turn?" she said tiredly, hoping to veer off the Travis Fimmel topic and get back to the game she didn't want to play. _

_A square board with letters and numbers on each of the four sides and in the middle was a symbol of the like Celeste had never seen before. It resembled a basic number eight yet swirled somehow, as if someone had plunged a blunt object right through the middle. _

"_We almost forgot the game!" Chantal switched off the floating image of Travis Fimmel and gave Celeste a pointed glance, "Ask the board any question you want answered."_

"_Ask if you're going to marry someone." Maya said with a bright smile._

_Celeste made a face, "There isn't anyone out there who would change my mind. I'm not getting married. Ever."_

"_Fine." Chantal breathed._

"_At least ask who you'll fall in love with." Maya held up a hand when Celeste started to object, "Even though you're prone on hating boys –"_

"_I don't hate boys."_

"– _everyone falls in love." Maya finished._

"_Go on." Chantal prompted, dark eyes searching her face._

_Celeste sighed and raked a hand through her short red hair, "Fine. But I really don't believe in this stuff. It's superstitious nonsense."_

"_Live a little, Celeste."_

_She closed her eyes and fought a giggle. Her friends believed in the paranormal and she didn't want to irritate them. So if they believed an otherworldly being could look into the future and tell them what they wanted to know – fine. She would play along. _

_Trying to make her voice sound happier than she felt, she asked, "Will I ever fall in love?"_

_The board lit up, the symbol in the middle a scarlet red. A white light appeared above the letter A, slowly moving along the alphabet until it suddenly veered to the right and settled atop a single word. _

_Yes._

_Maya laughed, "See! I told you so!"_

"_Now ask who you'll fall in love with. Maybe it's someone we know." Chantal said._

_Celeste grimaced, "Who will I fall in love with?" She felt so stupid saying the words aloud._

_Again, the board lit up, the small white light floating above the letters, swiftly moving back and forth. Her eyes could hardly follow as it started on the letter Z. _

"_Z?"_

"_Do we know anyone whose name starts with Z?" Maya asked tapping her chin with a finger._

"_Look!" Chantal exclaimed. The small white light spelled out the name Z-E-K-K and then blinked out. As the board darkened, the girls looked at each other in silence for a long while. Celeste felt silly – of course, it wouldn't have worked. They knew no one by the name of Zekk._

"_This is stupid." She whispered._

"_Maybe you'll meet Zekk sometime later." Chantal whispered._

_Celeste arched a brow and pushed off the floor, "Can we stop the game now? I'm kinda hungry."_

"_Sure."_

"_How about ice-cream? My Mom bought a new fruity flavor."_

_Celeste followed her friends into the kitchen, barely taking notice of their words. The board had only been a game, hadn't it? A silly, stupid game girls loved to play. So why was she feeling sick all of a sudden? Because what she hadn't told her friends was that she had been having dreams of someone named Zekk._

_Celeste let out a little laugh. Just a coincidence, of course._

_Because a game was just a game and a dream was only a dream. _

"Would you mind if I left a little earlier?"

Celeste looked up from the flimsies scattered across the front desk, a lightpen in her hand after filling out a copy of the release form for a patient. She smiled as Daria started twirling her hair around a finger, a definite sign that she was nervous.

But Celeste had never really been a person to say No. "Alright."

"Thank you so much!" Daria's smile warmed Celeste so much that she caught herself laughing.

"Say hello to your new male friend when you get home."

Daria winked at her as she headed down the hall towards the dressing rooms, "Will do. See you tomorrow!"

Celeste leaned back in her chair and threw the lightpen across her desk. As the head nurse all paper work and other obligatory bureaucracy, was left for her to do. She had become a nurse to help patients, not deal with the system.

Running a hand across her face, she pushed away from the desk and grabbed Daria's folder, skimming through the pages.

Daria had one more patient to visit before her shift would have normally ended so instead of dealing with more flimsies and unwanted charts, Celeste grabbed her comlink and went to go see patient number 0512 without a name.

She raised her brows as her fingers flew over the touchpad – when the man had been admitted, he hadn't given a name or address. It was common that patients were rather sketchy with their personal lives but these patients weren't people you usually wanted to mess with. They had their reasons to keep some facts secret and Celeste wouldn't be the person to sniff.

The hospital was very quiet this time of night. Only one Doctor was on duty but Celeste had convinced him to get some sleep. It wouldn't do anyone any good if an emergency arose and he was too tired to see straight. Anyway, Celeste was sure she could handle day-to-day things.

Pushing the door open to the patients' room she was positively taken aback as she saw him sitting up in bed. According to his file, he had had four broken ribs, multiple abrasions and a slight concussion. No one with those sort of injuries would be sitting up smiling at her.

"Hello, Doc." He said with amusement in his dark voice. Celeste raised her brows – not only was she confused as to his current health state but she was also confused as to why she felt like a batch of flies had been set free inside her belly.

"I'm not the Doctor." She said as she came closer, placing the chart on the bedside table. Her eyes scanned the monitors near the bed and when she was satisfied, everything was in order, she turned back to the patient, "I see you're doing better."

"Yeah. And I'd really like to leave now."

Celeste shrugged, "Sorry. No leaving the hospital at nights."

He gave her a peeved glare as if to tell her he could leave whenever the hell he chose to.

"So…do you have a name?"

"How long do you intend to keep me here?" He asked, his voice growing cold as ice. She shivered as his green eyes pinned her and she had to swallow to find her own voice again. Whoever this man was, he leaked power and it rattled her.

"Until you're fully healed."

"I am fully healed."

Maybe the charts were wrong. Maybe Daria had confused this patient with another one.

"I'm certain the Doctor will let you leave tomorrow morning. Once he's taken a look at you."

The man scowled at her, narrowing dark green eyes but then turning away to gaze out the window. There wasn't much to see besides spires and buildings, flashing lights and vehicles passing by a few kilometers away.

"What happened?" Celeste asked, surprised at herself. She learned never to get too close to her patients but since this man technically wasn't hers to care for, she let her curiosity rule for just a moment.

"Long story."

"I have time."

He turned his attention back to her, "And why do you want to know?"

Celeste shrugged, "According to your file you were picked up near the space port, unconscious. Someone had a whole lot of fun crushing your ribs with their boots, no doubt. And here you are sitting up and being testy even though you should still be in pain." She sighed as she crossed her arms in front of her chest, "Either your file is lying – granted, maybe someone switched the charts – or there's something more about who you are."

"Even if there were more about me, it wouldn't be any of your business." He laid his head back against the large pillow and closed his eyes. Celeste took the moment to actually _look_ at him the way she had wanted to when she'd stepped into the room.

He seemed very tall but she couldn't be sure the way he lay there with his knees brought up. He wore a loose long sleeved white shirt that concealed his upper body but she imagined him to be an athletic man. His black hair reached over his shoulders, framing a beautiful and sincere, masculine face.

He definitely was a looker. With a snappy temper too.

"Well, if there's anything else you need –"

"What's your name?" he asked, his eyes still closed.

She hesitated for just a moment, surprised at his question, "Celeste."

A slight smile spread across his face and Celeste felt her heart flutter. She frowned at the unaccustomed sensation, filing it away for later observation.

"Beautiful name."

She nodded once, "Thank you."

Celeste grabbed his chart and tucked it under her arm, about to turn away as his eyes fluttered open. She couldn't get herself to walk away from him as he stared at her, a deep emerald green taking her breath away.

"My name is Zekk."

Celeste's eyes widened and she sucked in a breath. She didn't know how to react – she felt like laughing and running away at the same time. Memories from her childhood days came back to her, the day she and her friends had been playing that silly game. And the dreams that had haunted her for over a year…

"Zekk." She whispered as if saying his name for the first time, savoring it and burning it to memory. "Zekk?" she repeated, earning an arched glance from her patient.

"Uh…yeah."

Celeste took a step back and swallowed, "No. Kriffing. Way!" Then she threw her head back and laughed.


	2. Chapter 2

Although he couldn't quite comprehend the reason why she was laughing at him, he _did_ stare at her with mild amusement. Her cheeks turned a deep red while she stood there, hugging herself as she leaned her back against the wall. In his opinion, there wasn't anything worth laughing about.

Minutes later, she calmed down, reaching up to her face to wipe tears away with her fingers. "I'm sorry." Her voice was shaky, "Please don't think I'm crazy."

"Too late for that."

Celeste shivered when he spoke. She closed her eyes, wondering why this complete stranger could make her heart flutter in such a manner, that the currents seemed to wander throughout her body. Her knees shook at his penetrating gaze, emerald green eyes almost scorching her.

"It's a long story." She said, suddenly feeling extraordinarily stupid. For just a moment, she let herself believe that destiny or fate – or whatever else you want to call it – had indeed already been written, that she had been meant to meet the stranger named Zekk.

_No_, she told herself, _this is just a silly coincidence. It has to be._

She felt her face warm up and she cleared her throat – she had just made a complete ass out of herself, hadn't she?

"Uh… is there anything I can get you?"

Green eyes narrowed ever so slightly, his brows drawn together in a frown, "What do you find so amusing about me?"

Alarmed that he thought she had been laughing at him, she stepped closer and shook her head, strands of wavy red hair falling into her freckled face. "No! It's not you! Gods, no, it's not you." She gave him a pointed stare, trying her best not to notice those full, smooth and very kissable lips quirking up into a smile. "It's this whole situation, that's all."

"So, me lying here is funny to you?"

"No!" Why did she suddenly feel like a little child being caught doing something, she wasn't supposed to be doing? "It's…uh…" She gave a defeated sigh, realizing she would have to tell him the truth or simply lie.

_On the other hand, you could just walk away. He'll be gone by tomorrow anyway._

"Forget it." She faked a warm smile, a smile she had perfected since becoming a nurse. "I'll be at the front desk if there's anything you need."

He surprised her with a deep and dark growl; she shivered at the sound, biting on her lower lip as she felt goosebumps rise on her skin. Zekk threw the white sheets aside and swung his long legs over the edge of the bed.

"What are you doing?" Celeste shrieked as he set his bare feet on the cold, tiled floor. And he had to be at least six feet tall!

She noticed then that he braided his hair into a long ponytail, hanging down his back. Black strands fell into his face as he turned towards her. Celeste gasped and swallowed at the sight of him, "Gods, you're tall."

He chuckled, "Obviously."

"No!" Celeste took three steps towards him, feeling awkward as she tilted her head upward to look at him. The top of her head barely reached his shoulder, "You need to rest!"

"What I need is to leave."

"You're hurt! Bruises, cracked ribs –"

"Do I look hurt to you?" He lifted the white hospital shirt and Celeste really wished he hadn't. She swallowed back a groan at his perfectly chiseled abs, at the impeccable creamy skin…

The nurse within her drew her brows into a frown, "How the hell is that possible?" Because according to his file he had multiple abrasions and hematomas, the left side of his torso having taken the most damage with three cracked ribs. A dip in the Bacta tank hurried along the healing process but the wounds would have still been visible.

"How long have I been here?" He asked with sudden urgency.

"Two days. Look, you –"

"I need my things."

Celeste shook her head while holding up her hands, gesturing for him to hold on, "I can't –"

Zekk pushed passed her, his face a mask of stone. Celeste grabbed his arm and spun him around, a dark satisfaction making her smile when Zekk winced, "You are _not_ fully healed so you'd best get back to bed before I call security."

He laughed, "I leave when I choose to."

It was simple – Celeste _didn't_ want him to leave. What if he left and she would never see him again?

_You're crazy! He's a complete stranger!_

_But…Zekk…_

"Please. One more night won't kill you."

He stopped and leveled his green gaze on her, "What's it to you?"

Her back rigid, Celeste met his stare head on, "I worry for my patients."

"Liar."

Celeste gaped as he turned around and slapped the controls to open the door. He was halfway down the hall before Celeste realized what was happening. "Wait!" she yelled after him. He turned on his heel and shot her a dark look, "I'll get your stuff."

She doubted it would do him any good to wander outside in baggy hospital wear. If it were his wish to leave, then she would let him go. Even though her heart screamed out to make him stop – it tore her up that he would go and that they would most likely never see each other again.

No one had ever made her feel this way before. She was jittery around him, nervous to the brink that her hands began to shake. And it was stupid! She'd known him for what? Ten minutes?

"I'm pathetic." She whispered under her breath as she went to find Zekk's clothes.

Zekk watched her leave – she was oddly enticing and not the kind of woman he usually fell for. Red hair framed a pretty, freckled face and dark, intelligent eyes searched every detail. Even in her baggy hospital garb, he could see voluptuous, female curves…

His blood boiled as she returned with his robes and – thank the Force – his lightsaber.

"You might have mentioned being a Jedi." She commented as she handed him the bundle of clothes.

"You didn't ask."

"I've never met a Jedi before." Her cheeks flamed red – a sight Zekk thought to be overly endearing. But he didn't answer. He hurried back into the hospital room and got dressed, leaving Celeste behind staring at his back.

She wandered back to the front desk, her arms crossed in front of her chest. Absent-mindedly her fingers played with the nametag on her front pocket – she hardly took notice of her colleagues, of other patients mingling in the hall. All her thoughts swirled around the stranger named Zekk.

"You're going crazy." She whispered under her breath, raking a hand through her hair.

She had met many men in her life and a few of them had been rather interesting individuals but meeting Zekk… he was so _different_. She knew it for a fact – something about him called out to her, something about him made her want to _know_ him.

"You alright?"

Celeste turned to the voice of one of the night nurses, a sweet young woman of average height in her mid thirties. Noe had just recently become part of the team, having transferred from Corellia to Coruscant, hoping for "some action" as she had so delicately put it.

"I'm fine."

"You don't look fine. Maybe you should take a break. Get some fresh air." She placed a hand on Celeste's arm, a reassuring gesture – a gesture Celeste needed. Sighing, she forced a little smile, "You know what? That's a good idea."

Noe nodded, "I'll take over for a little while."

Celeste breathed in deeply before heading for the exit. The outside air was freezing cold, a thick fog obscuring her view to the city. It had been a rainy day and according to the weather forecasts, it would continue to rain a while longer. Celeste didn't much mind – water had always been rather soothing to her.

She closed her eyes and thought back to that fateful night so many years ago, to that night when she and her friends had played a silly game. Maybe it hadn't just been a game. Maybe it had all been real and destiny had already been carved into stone.

_It would explain the dreams._

Two nights before meeting her friends, Celeste had begun to have the strangest dreams. She remembered them vividly, pictures of a tall man, dressed in black, fighting his way through ranks and ranks of enemies. The lightsaber in his hand lighting the way to freedom, to protection.

She had never seen his face, only the most fantastic green eyes. While sleeping, she had spoken his name often – her mother had told her so after waking Celeste – but still she refused to believe…

"It's obvious, though, isn't it?" she whispered, shivering from the cold.

Bright light splashed the walkway as the entrance behind her opened silently. Celeste didn't need to turn around to know it was Zekk approaching her. Swallowing back a lump in her throat, she shifted her dark eyes towards the tall Jedi Knight, almost choking on his looks as he stood beside her.

His Jedi robes reminded her of the deserts of Tatooine. His lightsaber dangled from his hip and he had straightened his hair, pulling it back in a tight braid, not a single strand falling into his chiseled face.

"Please don't go." Celeste was surprised when she heard her voice crack, when she felt tears sting her eyes at the thought of seeing him leave. She was a tough woman – so why was she falling apart so suddenly?

Zekk gave her a curious stare, his eyes searching her face, "Why is it so important to you that I stay?"

"It's…"

"Complicated?" he finished for her, his voice low.

Celeste nodded, "Complicated, yes."

"I can't stay. Not here, anyway."

She cleared her throat, "Would you meet me after work?" The words were out before she could stop them and going by the way he raised his brows at her, he hadn't been expecting an invitation.

"Why?"

"Because you intrigue me." She decided to keep quiet about the dreams and the game from her childhood – about destiny already being written for the both of them.

_Which is stupid. He's just a guy you like. _

Zekk stared at her for a while, his eyes mirroring the skepticism he felt, "You're a strange woman, Celeste."

She laughed, blowing warmth into cupped hands, "I've heard worse."

"When do you get off?"

Celeste raised her brows and did her best holding back a very feminine giggle, "At ten. Maybe we could have breakfast together and start new?"

_Please say yes, please say yes, please say yes. _

"Alright. I'll be here to pick you up."

Celeste smiled, feeling cheeks warm up. He bid her farewell and she watched as he walked away, hoping that he really would show up. If he did, perhaps she would indeed believe in destiny.


	3. Chapter 3

"I look a total mess."

Celeste ran her fingers through her mussed hair for the hundredth time, trying to get the red strands to do what she wanted them to do. A few drops of water hadn't helped either and several minutes into standing in front of the mirror she simply gave up.

"This will have to do."

She hurried with getting dressed, leaving her nurse's uniform tangled up in a heap inside her locker. Her tight fitting pants and tunic weren't as comfortable but at least her casual clothing did not conceal her curves – the thought brought a smile to her face.

Taking a quick look at her wrist chrono, Celeste realized she still had another fifteen minutes until she officially got off work. She'd punched out already though, wanting to calm her rapidly beating heart without having to use meds to do so.

She sat down on the bench in the locker room, sifted through her bag and brought out her com link. She hadn't talked to either Maya or Chantal in years, each of them having gone their separate ways in life. While Celeste had wanted to help people by becoming a nurse, Maya had gotten into real estate while Chantal had started out as a very successful lawyer with her own firm. Rumors had it though, that she'd married the wrong guy and was now stuck at home with two children.

Taking a deep breath, Celeste punched in the frequency code for Chantal's residence. Even though she'd never called before, Celeste had memorized the numbers. Her stubbornness didn't permit her to admit that she really did miss her friends; ever since they'd parted to lead their own lives, something had been missing.

Celeste was about to give up and cut the line, when a tired sounding voice answered with a quiet, "Hello?"

"Chantal?"

The woman on the other end cleared her throat. "Yes. Who is this?" Goodness, her voice sounded awful! As if she'd been drinking the entire night and the call had just woken her.

"It's Celeste. Am I bothering you? I can call back later."

_Or not._

A moment of silence made Celeste think it was a very bad idea to call her old friend. Somehow she knew it was a bad time and somehow she knew that Chantal was most definitely no longer the person she remembered.

"Oh, Celeste! It's so good to hear from you!"

Which was a complete flat out lie. Celeste frowned. "I just wanted to see how you were doing."

"Everything's great around here!" Chantal exclaimed in that same squeaky voice Celeste remembered from her childhood days. And that same voice let her know that everything Chantal said was a lie.

They talked no longer than five minutes in which Celeste found out that Chantal's husband had left her alone with the kids and she hated the situation she was in, having to leave the law firm because her husband was filing a divorce.

Of course, Chantal would never admit to this but it was what the other woman had _not_ said, that had given Celeste all the information she needed.

They said their good-bye and when Celeste cut the link, she knew the good-bye was for good. And she didn't even feel sad about it.

Stuffing the link back into her bag, Celeste threw on her thick, long coat and took another quick look into the mirror. Her red hair barely touched her shoulders and still it was tousled and standing up all over the place. Grunting words of disapproval, she turned away from her reflection and headed to the exit of the hospital.

She waved at a few of her colleagues, stopped to see how a patient was doing and swapped silly remarks with one of the male nurses. When she stepped outside, the cold wind swept her hair out of her face and managed to find its way into the folds of her coat. Shivering, she crossed her arms in front of her chest and waited.

Her thoughts wandered while she stood there, a flame of hope igniting in her chest that Zekk would really show up. She would feel like one hell of an idiot otherwise.

But twenty minutes later, Celeste still waited and she could barely feel her toes anymore. Disappointment and even a little hurt mingled with thoughts of how stupid she'd been to trust a complete stranger. With her head bowed to the ground, she heaved a sigh and hurried home.

Being stood up hurt like…well, it hurt so badly that Celeste felt like hitting something. She entered her apartment building with a quick nod of greeting to the young man at the front desk, hurried to the turbo lift and just let herself be swept away to her private little haven.

Her apartment was rather big but she liked the space. She could move without bumping into furniture, could dance to loud music whenever she felt like it; she could even work out without having to move anything out of the way. It was a perfect home albeit very cold and empty.

Celeste stepped off the turbo lift while rummaging through her bag to find her keycard. Even though everything else in her life seemed to be organized, her bag definitely was not. After several minutes of cursing under her breath, her temper rising and her mood sinking below zero, Celeste finally found the damned thing and headed for her front door.

Only to stop dead in her tracks as she caught sight of a very intimidating young man leaning against the wall with his arms crossed in front of his chest. His robes were torn in several places and his hair hung open around his shoulders. There were new cuts and bruises around his left eye and cheekbone, Celeste noticed, and without so much as a single thought, she was back into nurse mode.

"What happened?" She asked, dropping her bag to the floor and reaching up to examine Zekk's face. He grabbed her wrist in one very large hand and shook his head.

"Don't worry about it."

"You're hurt. Of course I'm going to worry about it."

"I'll live."

"Don't be stubborn like this." Celeste hissed between her teeth, thoroughly annoyed with him. "I hate this macho babe boy stuff. You're hurt and even though you're a Jedi, you're in pain. You can't hide it because it's in your eyes."

"Macho babe boy stuff?" He echoed and Celeste didn't know if it was amusement she heard or just plain disbelief.

"Let me help you." She said, ignoring his dark look.

"I don't need help."

"Then why did you come?"

_And how the hell did you know where I live?_

"Because I said I would."

She detected loneliness in his voice and it saddened her. She knew what it felt like to be alone, to always be there when people needed her but having to deal with her own problems because there wasn't anyone there willing to help her.

Celeste felt that Zekk didn't want to be alone. And, by the Gods, she wouldn't leave him.

"Come inside and let me tend to your wounds."

It was clear to her then that he trusted her, even though she didn't understand why. Maybe it was a Jedi or Force thing, who knew? And it was also clear, that he had nowhere else to go. But he would never admit to that.

"I need to go." He said, straightening to his full height and letting go of her wrists, his dark hair falling off his shoulders and showing her a patch of burned robes and charred flesh.

Celeste sucked in a breath as he pushed passed her but she was right on his heels. "I'm not letting you leave, Zekk." She called after him, grabbing his elbow and spinning him around. He winced and groaned as pain slashed through him and Celeste realized he must be hurt more than she had first suspected.

"You're not going _anywhere_." She grabbed his hand and pulled him back towards her door. "And I swear to the Gods I will knock you out if you try to leave, understood?"

He cracked a little smile, barely visible but it still made her stomach twist into welcomed knots.

"How do you suppose you're going to accomplish knocking me out? I'm a little bigger than you are."

Celeste smirked and gestured to her bag. "I don't carry one of those big bags for the hell of it." She didn't elaborate but she always brought along a few syringes filled with a mild sedative in case she ever got mugged.

His expression grew serious then, tiny lines appearing at the edges of his green eyes. He swallowed a few times, averting her gaze while he took in the details of the hall. "I should go. I'll heal on my own."

"I won't let you go." She stepped forward and as gently as she could, laid her palms onto his chest. She hoped she wasn't hurting him. "I don't _want_ you to go." She said slowly.

Reluctantly, Zekk nodded and let her take his hand. He followed her without a word.

The incessant questioning of his well-being made him take deep breath. "I'm fine, Celeste." Zekk ground out between clenched teeth.

Celeste, holding on to his elbow while she led him to the sofa, chuckled. "Of course you're fine, Zekk! _Perfectly_ okay. If I let go of you now, you'd just land flat on your butt because you're _so_ _very_ okay." She gave him a sideways glance and winked at him, laughing at the dark look on his handsome face. "Suck it up. You're a Jedi – you should be used to sarcasm."

Zekk dropped down on a soft, cushioned chaise and stretched his long legs. He was thankful to be comfortable after the ordeal earlier that day. A bounty hunter – there was a _bounty hunter_ going for his head and a good one at that. Zekk leaned his head back and closed his eyes. A long, deep sigh escaped his throat and he let go of the tension building around his shoulders. The pain hit him like a hammer.

He opened himself to the Force, drawing on its life-giving energy to replenish himself, to shove the pain back as far as it would go.

Surprise, surprise – it wasn't working.

Frustrated, Zekk cursed under his breath, gritting his teeth.

A few days earlier he had woken up thinking it would be business as usual. His mission had been to retrieve an ominous Jedi artifact but it seemed that another party had acquired the same information. But this party – unknown to Zekk – had brought along a very good bounty hunter, a bounty hunter wielding a lightsaber and knowing how to use it. There was a patch of skin missing from Zekk's arm to prove it.

Zekk had yet to get his hands on the Jedi artifact and as far as he knew, neither had the bounty hunter. He hadn't even been able to discern the hunter's species -- he'd been too busy getting his butt kicked around and looking like a busted Pta fruit.

Groaning, Zekk squeezed his eyes shut. How embarrassing.

Celeste's gentle tug brought him back to the present and he tried to focus on his surroundings. She had a nice, modern and fancy place and a part of him felt instantly uncomfortable. Due to his upbringing, he had always been cautious around the more endowed people and it was a habit not easily shaken.

The colors reminded him of a sand planet, dark browns and beiges with a few colorful decorations here and there. And yet the place felt cold, empty even, as if something essential were missing.

"You really do look like hell. Try to get comfortable. I'll be right back." He felt a light touch on his hand and she left, her footsteps echoing in the large room that was her living area.

While Celeste was away, Zekk wondered how he was going to tell Master Skywalker about his little incident. He still had a few more days before he was due to return to the temple so he could still come up with a decent plan to retrieve the artifact _and_ get rid of the bounty hunter. There were so many questions cluttering his mind that it was getting hard to concentrate. And not to forget the pain slowly snaking its way into his conscious mind, which meant it would be wise to indulge in a healing trance.

"I need you to take off the robe." Celeste's voice ripped him out of his thoughts. She was carrying a small silver tray with gauzes, tape, hypospray with vials, bactapatches and skin glue – seemed she had everything covered.

The problem now was the moving part. He grunted as he slowly shimmied out of his dark brown robe, his arm stinging like crazy where the coarse material brushed the cauterized wound on his shoulder.

It seemed to take forever until Zekk had finally undressed. Going by the deep frown appearing on Celeste's forehead, he didn't even want to know what his torso looked like. That unknown bounty hunter seemed to enjoy kicking a whole lot more than a real fight with the saber.

"Gods, Zekk. What in the world happened to you?"

He didn't answer, merely closed his eyes as her fingers touched his skin. She blew out a breath and knelt down next to him, setting the tray on the floor beside her. "I'm going to start with the scratches on your face. Okay?"

Could he have felt more like an invalid? She was using the tone of voice reserved for little kids or those who had trouble following and understanding.

"Go ahead." He said gruffly.

"This might sting, though. I need to clean the wounds and then I'll use the bactapatch and the glue."

She really was in her element. The way her eyes twinkled while she worked, the way her lips formed a straight line, the way her brow was furrowed while she concentrated…

The _sting_, as she had called it, made him clench his teeth while she pressed a small bacta patch underneath his eye. Now, a _sting_ didn't make you want to pound your hand through a duracrete wall. A _sting_ was something you shrugged off, a sting was something you'd look at with a raised brow wondering what the hell it was doing annoying you so.

This? This wasn't a sting. This hurt like kriffing shavit.

Celeste smiled. "I did say it would sting."

He narrowed his eyes on her as she turned towards the tray on the floor and brought up the small tube with the skin glue. She applied it with swift working hands and once she was done, Zekk breathed a sigh of relief.

"Now for the uncomfortable part." She whispered, gesturing to the charred flesh of his shoulder. "What happened here?" She asked softly.

"Not important." Zekk found himself saying.

Thankfully, Celeste didn't press the matter. "I'll give you something for the pain first." She said, picking up the hypospray and clicking a small vial with a translucent liquid into place. "Then I'll clean around the wound, apply a bacta patch and bind it up a little. You'll need to go to the clinic to get yourself checked out. The bruises on your stomach have me worried."

"I'll be fine."

"You keep saying that and yet you're here, looking like someone really had the time of their lives beating the crap out of you."

Yes, talk about a blow to the ego.

Zekk gritted his teeth while Celeste worked on his arm. An uncomfortable silence ensued and all Zekk could think of was a quick and snappy _thank you_ before he close his eyes and drew on the Force again.

Clearing his mind he let tendrils sweep his body, puncture through his skin and fill him with a warm and comfortable light. If he concentrated enough, he could almost feel the healing process begin – just a little deeper, just a little more concentration…


End file.
